Friday, August 24, 2018

Written by Jon Williams

The music world lost a legend last week with the passing of
the Queen of Soul, Aretha
Franklin. She was 76.

While Aretha’s mother passed at a young age, her father was
a well-known minister, giving her exposure to influential gospel singers of the
time, including Mahalia
Jackson and Clara
Ward, both of whom served as role models. Aretha began touring and
performing with her father when she was just 12, and her first single was
released when she was 14. She stuck with gospel until she was 18, at which time
she moved to New York with hopes of breaking into the pop music world. Her
first secular album, Aretha: With the Ray
Bryant Combo, was released early in 1961, just before her 20th
birthday.

The rest, as they say, is history. She went on to have one
of the great careers of all time, recording such iconic, instantly recognizable
hits as “Respect,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and “I Say a
Little Prayer,” among so many others. In 2008, music authority Rolling Stone named her the greatest
singer of all time. With a career that spanned more than five decades, her
influence is legendary, inspiring generations of singers and musicians with her
talent and powerful performances. Some of these notable names include Whitney
Houston, Beyonce,
and Jennifer
Hudson, who Franklin herself chose to play her in an upcoming biopic.

We join the music and pop culture worlds in mourning the
monumental loss of Aretha Franklin. SmartBrowse her name on our website to find
a number of collections of her music, as well as a few related audiobooks and
films (including her incredible performance in the classic comedy The
Blues Brothers). Patrons can also check out her wonderful music,
including a broad collection of original albums, on hoopla
digital.